Tag: motivation

Are you a saver or a spender? For many of us, saving money is very difficult because we have become so accustomed to spending. Everything our eyes meet, we must purchase. Even though this is not a problem for me, I know many people who struggle with this area of their lives. There is nothing wrong with wanting to treat yourself but being wise with your money is key. So here are a few tips on saving money. Yes, saving money. Let’s get it.

Before you go to the store, write down the list of things you want to buy. Write down your budget. If you go, ask yourself these questions. |Why do I need it? When will I make it? Look at the price. Be honest with yourself. If you can’t afford it this time around, remind yourself, one day i will be able to purchase this but for now it’s not in my budget. Walk Away.

Buy things when they are on sale, if possible. Don’t worry about what your friends have. You don’t know what it took and how they went about to purchase the item.

It’s not every week, go to a new restaurant. Learn to cook. If you are not a visual learner, there are printed out versions of recipes. Start off with simple recipes. One day at a time, you’ll learn. Use coupons. There are so many websites and apps you can use to get coupons. (smartsource, couponlady, retailmenot)

Be content with what you have. This doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself but if you don’t need something don’t purchase it because you want to show off. Yes, you might just want it but if you can’t afford it at the moment, be okay with it. Don’t feel sad. You will someday.

If you have a piggy bank, put let’s say $5 every week. If you want to increase it by all means do so. Be committed. Don’t go and take out money out of it for unnecessary things.

Be careful who you loan money to because some people just won’t pay you back. I’m not talking about $10 or $20. For some people, this is nothing but for others it’s a lot of money. You don’t know what people are going through when they lend you money or how they got it, the least you can do, is pay them back.

Live your life. Don’t compare yourself to others. My father always told me, if he can’t afford something , he won’t buy it. He doesn’t want to go to bed thinking about credit card bills.

Cut your coat according to your size. It’s not everything you have to buy. If you go to the store and you don’t have enough money, walk away. It’s not everything you have to put on your credit card. If you do put money on your credit card, when the bill comes and your purchase was $300 and the minimum they are asking you for is $10, pay more to get it out of the way. If you have $50 or $100 at the time, pay it off. It’s not everyday treat yourself especially when your struggling to pay your bills. Crying at night because of the decision you made. Be honest with yourself.

Learn to look without touching especially when you don’t have money. Sometimes, you may have money that your saving but once you eye that shoe or purse you want to purchase it but later you regret buying it because you didn’t need it. You even have a similar purse at home. There’s nothing wrong with having good things in life. Who doesn’t want to treat themselves. C’mon. At the same time, you have to be honest with yourself. You have to learn to walk away and say “No” to certain things.

Investing In Others. There’s nothing wrong in supporting people’s business. Support is great but sometimes, you have to sit and ask yourself questions. This person I’m always supporting his or her work. He or she never supports anything I do even if it’s good. Everyday, you are pouring. You are always supporting someone’s new clothing line, book release but these people never support you. You must learn to be wise. Understand that support isn’t always money involvement. Sometimes, people may not have money at the time to support your business. Acknowledge that they are sharing your work + business cards bringing you customers. By all means support, but not to the expense where you are not eating bread and butter. If you don’t like investing in people, it will come a time when people won’t even invest in you.

Apps you can use for budgeting:

Spending Tracker

Fudget

Goodbudget Budget Planner

Daily Budget Original

Last Minute Tips:

Learn to say “No” when you are invited to places when you cannot afford it. Don’t use your rent money to purchase something you can’t afford.

Gather all your receipts. Place it in a container. At the end of the month, calculate how much you have spent.

Be honest with yourself.

Don’t be afraid to tell your children that you can’t something for them at the moment.. It’s never easy because you love them and want the best for them but being honest as a parent is also key. Teaching them these concepts will help them in the future.

Until next time, eat well. Drink water. Save more & take care of yourself. 🙂

For many of us, before the year started we made a list of things we wanted to do. And for others, a new years resolutions list was made. I wonder how’s that coming along? Have you accomplished any of your goals? What is hindering you from starting or even continuing?

So as the year started, I made a new years resolution which was (consistency). Consistency in every area in my life. From reading/studying the Bible more, writing on my blog, reading a book every month. How’s that going so far for me? It’s actually going well. If I can rate how consistent I am from a scale of 1-10, I would say 8.5 out of 10. I am trying. Where credit is due, I’ll give it. It’s not always but having a small notebook to take notes has been extremely helpful.

On January 16th, I started a “set a goal every week challenge”. I told my sister and one of my friends about it. They joined my challenge. So what exactly is the challenge? So every week on Sunday, you must set one or two goals for yourself for that week. When Sunday arrives, we have to report to each other on how the challenge went about for us. Were we able to accomplish the goal we wanted to accomplish? Why didn’t we accomplish us? What were some of the hindrances that set us back? What can we do the next time, for this not to be a repetitive behavior?

Feel free to join this challenge.

Challenge Rules:

1. Get a notebook/writing utensil.

2. Every Sunday, you must write a new goal for the week.

3. Get a friend to participate in this challenge. Tell your friends and their friends.

Tips on seriously accomplishing your goals

1. Be focused.

2. Check your notebook on what needs to be accomplished. Check off what you have accomplished. Be consistent. If you can’t accomplish last weeks goal, for the following week, instead of creating a new list, you can write in your notebook “Complete last week’s goals.”

Perspective is Key. Looking back over the years, I can say that I didn’t have this mindset of perspective being key. I’ve grown so much. The trials I faced drew me closer to God. Life isn’t always easy. Some days are tougher than others but I have learned to lean on God. I can definitely say that something that has helped me to reshape my thinking is my relationship with God. I look at situations through a different lens now. There were times when I was going through my own personal situations and when I called my friends, they never got back to me. In those moments are when one begins to question their friendships. It was hard at times and yes there have been many times in my life that I have questioned myself about the people I surround myself with but overtime I learned not to depend solely on people. We are humans and we fail in some way. It breaks my heart to see that there are many people hurting. They have become silent. So what have I learned thus far in this life? I have learned a lot but I’ll list 10 things.

Seek God in all your earthly doing. Study the Bible. Invite the Holy Spirit before you partake in your study.

Perspective is Key. The way you choose to view your circumstances can either shape you or break you.

Create room in your heart for God in the same way you make room for things.

Be careful of your circle of friends. At the same time, know that there is a Purpose to every encounter. Some people come into our lives for a season or for a lifetime. It’s never a mistake the people we cross paths with in this life.

Prioritize. When something is important to you, you make time for that thing. You don’t make excuses. If you want to have a better relationship with God, you make time to be in his presence. You will make time to read the Bible.

Community of Believers: It’s good to have people in your life that pray for you and want to see you grow in the Lord. If you do not have people in your life but will like to be surrounded with likeminded people, pray about it.

Live: Don’t take life so seriously. There’s a time for everything. Create memories with your family, friends and loved ones.

Spend time with yourself. Get know what you like and don’t like. Go out and explore. Write in your journal. Take pictures. Discover new hobbies.

Prayer is powerful. I’ve heard people say “I don’t know how to pray”. “So and so knows how to pray for long.” Honestly, it’s not about the duration of your prayer but rather your heart and also having the faith that whatever you have prayed for will come to pass. I can say that something that has given me peace is asking God to have his way in everything. If things don’t go as I intended, I’m grateful and I look at it in a different perspective.

Be a blessing unto others: As you forth into the day, there are people that God will allow you to cross paths with. It’s for a Purpose. I don’t believe in coincidences. Take time to compliment someone if you like their hair, clothes and etc. Take time to say hello or good morning when you meet people. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own situations that we become close minded to what is right in front of us. Take time to pray for someone.

“There are far too many silent sufferers. Not because they don’t yearn to reach out, but because they’ve tried and found no one who cares.” -Richelle E. Goodrich

Until next time, take care of yourself. Stay rooted in the Word. Be Encouraged 🙂